Trapped (A Big Four Story)

Chapter 9

Hiccup's P.O.V

"What about you?"

I glanced between them. Something didn't fit. One moment Merida was all fury (shoulders tensed and gripping the table tightly), probably because she overheard the mention of the Winter Spirit, but the next she was smiling and offering food.

"I'm fine, thanks." I replied warily.

"Suit yourself." Merida came and sat down with us. "What's the plan?"

I gave up trying to figure the girls out and got back to business. "When you're done with breakfast, I suggest we examine the walls carefully. It may take time, but there clearly is a way out."

"Great! What are we looking for?" Rapunzel asked enthusiastically.

"We're looking for any uneven surfaces, so run your hand from the floor to as high as you can reach; be sure to knock, as there is bound to be a hollow of another chamber; and press the wall as well, the door might be triggered by pressure." Merida informed.

"Anything else?" I asked noticing we were ready to go.

"No."

"Okay. Then let's get started. I'll take this side of the long wall, Merida you take the other and Rapunzel you take the far wall. When we are done, if we haven't found anything, we'll go to the opposite sides. If we still haven't found anything... Then we'll regroup and decide what to do from there."

----=----

We spent most of the morning searching for the exit, but we came up blank. We regrouped around what we thought was lunchtime and ate a fair bit of food. We then argued about what we should do next. We could re-do the walls (again) and swap places hoping to spot something someone else might have missed, or we could search the floor. In the end that's what we did.

We split the floor into thirds and crawled along our designated path, even going under the table at one point. But that search was useless. We sat down next to the table in despair.

We had dinner and although we tried to come up with another idea, we were too withdrawn to come up with anything good. Merida kept swigging from a ceramic jug and pulling faces at it. Rapunzel shrank back into her shell. And I just laid on my back, thinking.

"We could search higher up on the walls." I thought out loud.

"And how do you suppose we do that, Viking!" Merida snapped in response. I ignored her.

"We could search the ceiling. Maybe one of those bar things is the trigger." I said out loud.

"Oh, and how do we get up there to check, Bones!" Merida continued shouting down my ideas, getting angrier each time.

"There has to be a way out!" I cried in despair.

"There isn't! Just get over it!" Merida responded once again. "What?" She said when I looked at her in annoyance. "Stop looking at me like I'm a two headed deer! Me and Rapunzel were thinking it, and its about time you did too. We've been robbed our freedom and now we have to face facts. We are not getting out of this prison."

I stood up and locked eyes with her, "In the name of Odin, I will get out of this place, lest I be stuck with you for the rest of my unfortunate life."

"Well, you are stuck with me. So grab a drink, sit down and shut your mouth about how to get out!" She threw the jug she was holding and it smashed against the wall not far from Rapunzel, who shrank back in discomfort.

I gave up with her at that point she was far too drunk to reason with. I sat down and frowned at the floor. Part of me didn't want to give up but I knew deep down that she was half right. We were going to be stuck here, but not forever. If we continued to work as the team we had been today, and not get pushed back at every dead end, I was sure we would escape, even if we had to manufacture shovels and dig ourselves out.

----=----

A few hours later there was still silence. Rapunzel was laying down, facing away from us. She might have been asleep, but I didn't pay her any attention. Merida on the other hand was wide awake, drinking and smashing the cups when she had finished with them. She stood up all of a sudden and frantically looked around.

"Hey, Hiccup!" Merida called out of the blue, distracting my thoughts, "Where's the bathroom?" I turned round to look at her. "Are you serious?" She nodded furiously, her eyes wide. I couldn't help it, I chuckled. Of all the things to bring down her pride, it happens to be her bladder.

"Stop laughing! This is a matter of urgency!"

"Just go to the corner over there. That's where I go."

"Eww." She scrunched up her face, "Ah well." She ran towards the corner shouting back at me, "Don't go peeking now or I'll have an arrow through your head before you can blink."

With the threat in place, she squatted in the corner. My cheeks reddened and I turned around.